Thailand Becomes Most Preferred Destination for Tourists

BY  Abdul Aziz Dec 20, 2023

With nearly a decade passed, the U.S. Forest Service has finally made a decision to overhaul Juneau's Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area. The project has provoked hundreds and thousands of public comments from the Juneau community over the years. Alexandra Pierce, the city's tourism manager, says, “I like to see a plan that’s well managed and that listens to residents’ concerns. People didn’t want to see motorized boats on the lake and additional visitor center facilities and the Forest Service listens to the public on that, which is a positive thing.” The newly finalized plans include a new welcome center and other improvements to the old one. The plan is also set to increase parking, expand the trail systems, add an amphitheater and new public-use cabins. The glacier is one of the most visited tourist attractions. Forest service officials say the improvements will be helping in the management of the pressure with Juneau's rapid growth in cruise ship tourism that has increased in the recent years. When the visitor center was established in the 1960s, the area saw 23,000 visitors annually. Currently, about 700,000 visitors come to the glacier every year. The Forest Service is estimating that by 2050 this number could reach a million. But with more visitors the glacier has been moving away and even more so due to climate change. In a few decades the glacier will not likely be visible to the current visitor center at all. Pierce said that listening to the concerns of the people about overcrowding while also being aware that the tourism sector is an ever-growing field makes managing the area a constant balancing act. Pierce said, “I do think that’s a difficult puzzle for the Forest Service to try to solve. I think we’re all concerned about the receding glacier and what that means for the visitor experience in our community.” Read Also: Celebrations Have Begun At Oaga, Art Resort, Maldives: Report Kenya Is Targeting 5.5M Tourist Arrivals By 2028 Burger King Is Giving Away Free Food All Month

BY  Abdul Aziz Nov 16, 2023

Christmas lights, parades, and football bring a lot of people to Wheeling and Ohio County during this magical time of year, which also helps to boost the local economy. "The holiday season in Wheeling in Ohio County is perhaps the premiere time of the year," said Frank O’Brien, director, of Visit Wheeling. The Festival of Lights in Oglebay is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors. Along with hundreds of people attending the city's Winter on the Plaza event, thousands will congregate around Wheeling's Fantasy in Lights Parade. When you have several hundred thousand people spending time in your community, they spend anywhere between $3 to $5 million while they’re here, and sometimes, it's even more than that," O’Brien said. Many more will also swarm Wheeling Island Stadium for the Super Six High School Championship games. Large crowds are drawn to Wheeling's downtown by an increase in events and performances at WesBanco Arena and the capital theatre. Numerous people will be dining out, lodging in hotels, and making purchases from neighborhood merchants. And even though the city is lined with substantial construction, many people are still traveling there and managing to make ends meet. "We have been able to actually track some of that,” O’Brien said. “I'm not going to say that the roads are not a problem -- and the sidewalks being torn up is a problem -- but we are finding that people are still coming, primarily to the events at the arena and Capital Theatre." According to O'Brien, tourism generates about $800 million in revenue for the Northern Panhandle annually. Moreover, it's reasonable to anticipate making close to $10 million in the county just this season. "It's a crucial time for tourism in our area, and I think we do it better than anybody else," O’Brien said. As the holidays draw near, there will be plenty of opportunities to spread cheer and wealth. Learn More About: November Trips In 2023: From London To The World Zanzibar Or Oman: Which Do The Hungarian Tourists Like?

BY  Abdul Aziz Dec 27, 2023

The holidays of Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year's are all about happiness, family, and celebration. This entails engaging in festive customs and spending time with loved ones for the majority of people. However, these holidays have a whole new significance for cosmonauts and astronauts in space. Vacations in space were uncommon in the early years of space exploration. The first Christmas spent in space by astronauts was during the Apollo 8 mission in December 1968. Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, and William A. Anders read passages from the Bible's Book of Genesis while in orbit around the moon, broadcasting the scenes to an estimated billion viewers worldwide. Vacations in space increased in frequency and length as missions went on. Astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue observed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's in space during the 1973–1974 Skylab 4 mission. They watched a comet pass by, made a homemade Christmas tree out of food containers, and had a festive dinner that included fruitcake. For cosmonauts, the New Year's holiday was particularly important. Yuri V. Romanenko and Georgi M. Grechko were the first people to celebrate the new year while in orbit on the Salyut-6 space station in 1977 and 1978. In a broadcast on television, they raised a glass to the occasion. Astronaut Jeffrey A. Hoffman observed Hanukkah in 1993 while on the STS-61 mission aboard the space shuttle Endeavour. To celebrate the Festival of Lights, he spun a dreidel and carried a traveling menorah. Holidays were not only observed in space, but astronauts went above and beyond to make the occasion joyful. The 1999 STS-103 crew, who were entrusted with fixing the Hubble Space Telescope, celebrated Christmas with a special meal that included French specialties. Twelve Mir expedition crews, including NASA astronauts, spent their vacations on board the Russian space station between 1987 and 1998. Messages were exchanged and customs, like lighting Hanukkah candles and sending Christmas greetings, were demonstrated during these festivities. On board the International Space Station, holiday celebrations are still customarily observed. Whether it's through live broadcasts, symbolic decorations, or special food items, astronauts and cosmonauts find inventive ways to bring the joy of these festivities to the cosmic realm. Though they may be different, people who celebrate the holidays far above Earth still find great meaning and significance in them. Read Also: 6 Things Locals Wish Tourists Wouldn’t Do When In Iceland Juneau’s Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area Is Expecting Big Changes Bora Bora Is Shifting Its Tourism Policy, Aims To Double Tourists By 2033